"Ok," she said, stopping just below the steps to pull out her phone. "You two stand right here. Side by side, ok? I want a picture."
Cy and I traded a look, but her enthusiasm was adorable. "Not even going to wait for your dad?" I asked.
"I'll get some with him too, but he's in the barn again." The girl huffed to show what she thought about that. "Closer! Look like he's your boyfriend or something."
So Cy wrapped his arm around me and I leaned in. Faith snapped a picture, her phone clicking. Behind her, the road was still empty. No bus was in sight, and it was cold, but the smile on her young face made it worthwhile to stand out here like I was trying to make a statement. Then the camera clicked again - and yet again.
"Dad!" Faith yelled. "It's time!"
The barn door opened. Luke came out first, but Ash was right behind him. Like us, they had on coats. Unlike me, they didn't seem to be hating the weather. Granted, my guys all thought this time of year was "nice." They would probably enjoy living in a refrigerator too.
But the guys didn't move to our sides to pose like I expected. Instead, they stopped on the step below me. Luke took my hand in his. Beside me, Ash took Cy's. I looked between the guys in confusion, then a breathy laugh slipped from Ash's throat.
"Cy, I have loved you for more than half my life," Ash told him. "I can still remember the day I came here, and you were not the salvation I was expecting."
"It took me longer," Luke said, speaking to me. "But I love you just as much, Violet. My only regret is that I barely remember the day we actually met, although you've more than made up for that. Now, my every waking thought is about you - or them."
I was confused. I mean, thrilled, but also confused. Hoping for some hint, I glanced at Cy to find his eyes a little wide, and then both Luke and Ash knelt at the same time, holding up a pair of matching boxes.
"Cyan Marshall," Ash said, "I promise to love you until the end of my days. Maybe not just you, but 'boyfriend' doesn't begin to describe how I feel about you."
"Violet Dawson," Luke breathed, his voice sounding just a little shaky. Then he paused to swallow. "You are the woman of my dreams. Well, our dreams. You have made my life whole, taught me how to be a better man, and gave me the family I never knew I was missing. I love you just as much as my daughter, and I want you to be a permanent part of our lives. Would you marry me, Vi?"
"And would you marry me, Cy?" Ash asked. "Legal, binding, and no more hiding it. Would you be my husband, partner in all things, and the other half of my soul?"
"Yes," Cy and I both gasped at the same time.
The timing couldn't have been better if we'd tried, and it was enough to make the guys open their boxes. Inside Luke's was a beautiful gold ring with two delicate stones. Neither of them was a diamond. One emerald. One amethyst. I reached out my trembling hand, offering it so he could put the ring on my finger, and looked over at Ash.
In his box was a woven band with a magenta and a cyan stone. He had to reach out for Cy's hand, though. The man was too stunned to know what came next, and the fact that his eyes were brimming made it clear that he didn't care. Cy was so happy, he couldn't do anything but stand there and smile.
The guys quickly got the rings on our hands, then Ash reached back and snapped like he was ordering something. Then he cleared his throat. When that still didn't work, he turned to look at the girl holding her phone up and recording everything.
"Faith!"
"Oh, sorry!" she said, hurrying forward to put yet another box in his hand, then giving her dad one just like it from her other pocket.
"And," Ash said, resuming like that little hiccup hadn't happened, "while we might not be able to marry each other legally, will you still be my husband in name and spirit, Luke?" Ash asked, opening his box.
"Only if you will be mine," Luke said, doing the same. "The four of us belong together, and I can no longer imagine anything else."
Then they paused to put their rings on each other's fingers. Maybe it wasn't the most elegant or flawless display ever, but I honestly didn't care. They'd found a way to make us, well, "us." So, while Ash tried to cram his ring onto Luke's finger without hurting the guy, I looked over their heads to find the biggest smile on Faith's face. The girl who would soon be my legal stepdaughter.
"Faith?" I asked. "Will you be my maid of honor?"
"What?!" she asked, the phone dipping down in her excitement. "Yes! I'll help with everything, and I'll prove to you that I can be more than a flower girl."
"So much more," I assured her. "You're going to be my daughter."
That was enough to make her run right into the middle of us, wrapping one arm around my waist and the other around Cy's as she hugged us. "I'm so glad you all said yes, and it was so hard not to say anything, but I promised, and now it's going to work." Then she sucked in a breath. "Oh. Wait! You're supposed to kiss now!"
"And you're supposed to record it," Ash reminded her.
So Faith hurried back to her spot. "Kiss the husbands!" she ordered.
I grabbed both sides of Luke's face and kissed him with all the happiness pinging around inside me. My fiancé. My cowboy. My Emerald. And when he pulled back, I turned to Cy to do the same thing while Luke kissed Ash. Then, finally, I moved around Cy to get my chance with my last husband, but paused before my mouth found his.
"My only regret is that Gran missed this. The only one, Ash." Then I pressed my lips to his.
